the dedication of thousands of young aspiring men and women to the good
life here, now and indefinitely, into a bright, productive and creative
future.

As of this date seven publishers have examined the manuscript of this
work and declined to publish it. All felt that it would not find any
considerable reading public. Nevertheless, I feel that the work should
be printed and distributed because it carries a message that may be of
first rate importance to the future of my fellow humans.

Scott Nearing.

Harborside, Maine May 5, 1975




INTRODUCTION

THOUGHTS ABOUT HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION


We may think and talk about civilization as one pattern or level of
culture, one stage through which human life flows and ebbs. In that
sense we may regard it abstractly and historically, as we regard the
most recent ice age or the long and painful record of large-scale
chattel slavery.

From quite another viewpoint we may think of civilization as a
technologically advanced way of life developed by various peoples